Data Protection Engineer

Location: Springfield, VA – on-site; US citizenship and active Secret clearance required (must be able to obtain Top Secret).

About the role

SAIC is seeking a hands-on Data Protection Engineer to administer, maintain, and optimize enterprise backup and recovery solutions in a mission-critical, on-premises government data center. The role ensures data availability, integrity, and compliance with Federal standards.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support enterprise on-premises Commvault data protection platforms.
• Monitor and manage daily backup operations, ensuring successful job completion and timely issue resolution.
• Perform data backup, restoration, and disaster recovery operations for physical and virtual environments.
• Maintain and optimize backup infrastructure, including backup servers, media agents, and storage systems.
• Troubleshoot system issues related to backup failures, performance degradation, and storage utilization.
• Develop and enforce backup policies, retention schedules, and disaster recovery procedures in alignment with customer requirements.
• Conduct regular backup validation and recovery testing to ensure system resilience.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (systems, storage, network, cybersecurity) to maintain secure and compliant operations.
• Support audit readiness and compliance efforts by providing documentation and reporting.
• Maintain detailed technical documentation, including SOPs, system diagrams, and operational procedures.
• Participate in on-call rotation and provide after-hours support as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and 14+ years of relevant experience; master’s and 12+ years; or additional experience in lieu of degree.
• Hands-on experience with Commvault, Dell EMC Avamar, or equivalent enterprise-class data protection system in an on-premises/data center environment.
• Experience with enterprise backup architecture, including replication technologies.
• Familiarity with storage platforms and VMware vSphere/vCenter environments.
• Knowledge of Windows Server and networking fundamentals related to backup and storage traffic.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant certifications (e.g., Dell EMC Proven Professional, Commvault Certified Professional, VMware VCP).
• Experience supporting Federal or DOS IT environments.
• Familiarity with air-gapped backup solutions and ransomware protection strategies.
• Experience with database backup and recovery (Oracle, SQL Server).

Pay

Target salary range: $160,001 – $200,000.